Muslims in America celebrate anti-Israel candidate's victory: "Our time has come." Trump said New York would have a "communist" mayor and estimated that residents would flee it, but also indicated that he might help Mamdani:"We want New York to succeed." In a speech in Miami, exactly one year after winning the election, the US president said:"A year ago we regained our sovereignty. Yesterday we lost a little bit of it in New York - but we will take care of it." The mayor-elect condemned the spraying of swastikas on a yeshiva building: "Anti-Semitism has no place in the city."
Daniel Adelson, New York
,
News agencies
|Updated:
Donald Trump
Last night (Wednesday) he referred to the overwhelming victory of
Zohran Mamdani
In the mayoral elections
New York
– A victory that raises concerns in Israel and among Jewish communities in America. During Mamdani's election campaign, the US president threatened to arrest him, and promised to deprive New York of federal funding if the Democratic candidate became mayor. Last night, the Republican president struck a slightly more conciliatory tone, and alongside the allegations that Mamdani is a communist, he said that he might help the new mayor.
Trump suffered a political blow last night not only in New York, but also in the gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey. In both states, the Democratic candidates won by large margins. Last night, in a speech in Miami, Trump said that Americans must choose"between communism and common sense."
New York Elections – More Headlines:•
Billionaires in Panic: Mamdani's Plans
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The stinging newspaper cover, and Trump's response:"Here it begins!"
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Reactions in Israel: "Anti-Semitism has overcome common sense"
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The division among New York Jews: "The humiliation from Trump has become a political tsunami"
13 Viewing the gallery
"We lost a little bit of sovereignty in New York," Trump said of the results in the city (Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Alexi J. Rosenfeld / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
"If you want to see what the Democrats in Congress want to do to America, just look at the results of yesterday's election in New York, where their party put a communist in charge of the largest city. They skipped the socialists, and put communists in their place," Trump said of Mamdani, who describes himself as a socialist. In his speech in Miami, Trump added:"The Democrats are now so extreme, Miami will soon become a haven for those fleeing communism in New York. They will flee."
"We'll see now how the communists in New York do. We'll see how it works, and we'll help them. We want New York to be successful. We'll help them a little bit, maybe," Trump said about his future relations with New York City, after, as mentioned, he had already promised to withhold budgets from the city if Mammadani wins.
Trump in a speech in Miami."Maybe we'll help them" (Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
(Photo: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump's speech in Miami came exactly one year after his landslide victory over Kamala Harris in the presidential election."On November 5, 2024, the American people took back our government. We took back our sovereignty. Last night we lost a little bit of our sovereignty in New York, but we'll take care of that, don't worry," the president said.
In his victory speech, Mammadani said his victory was also proof that Democrats can defeat their Republican opponents - and Trump in particular - while urging his party members to stop being afraid to promote progressive positions."Convention will tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate: I am young, despite all my efforts to grow up. I am a Muslim. I am a Democratic socialist. And 'worst of all' - I refuse to apologize for any of these things!" he said."Ultimately, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that brought him to power."
Zohran Mamdani with his wife Rama Devaji at the victory celebrations (Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
(Photo: Angelina Katsanis / AFP)
(Photo: Michael M. Santiago / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
(Photo: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
(Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)
"In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light," Mamedani said in his victory speech."If there is a way to deter a tyrant, it is to dismantle the very circumstances that allowed him to gain power. That is not only the way to stop Trump, it is the way to stop the next one. So Donald Trump, because I know you are watching - I have four words for you: Turn the volume up!"
Mamdani, 34, will be sworn in on January 1 and will become the first Muslim mayor in New York City's history. Yesterday, when he introduced his all-female mayoral transition team, Mamdani said he was interested in speaking with Trump - with the goal of"serving New Yorkers" in the best possible way.
A third of New York Jews voted for Mamdani
The fact that Mamdani is also an anti-Israeli who refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, and calls for a boycott of it, did not prevent Jews, and even many Israelis in New York, from supporting him.
According to a CNN poll released yesterday morning
Mamdani received about 33% of the Jewish vote in the city with the largest diaspora community, while his opponent Andrew Cuomo, who has constantly emphasized the danger of anti-Semitism, won 63% of the Jewish vote.
Mamdani denies his opponents' claims that he is anti-Semitic, or that he helped fuel the surge in anti-Semitic attacks in New York during the Gaza war – following anti-Israel demonstrations in the city in which he himself participated. In his victory speech yesterday morning, he promised to fight the “scourge of anti-Semitism.”
Last night, a few hours after his victory, the mayor-elect faced his first test case regarding the issue of anti-Semitism – after swastikas were spray-painted in red on the facade of the Magen David Yeshiva in Brooklyn. According to a police statement, the graffiti was discovered the morning after the election. The suspect, who acted alone and was wearing black, fled on foot. The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Unit has opened an investigation, and at this point no suspects have been arrested.
Mamdani responded a few hours later on X Network, writing that this was"a disgusting and heartbreaking act of anti-Semitism, and it has no place in our city. As mayor, I will clearly stand with our Jewish neighbors and work to eradicate the phenomenon of anti-Semitism from the city." Outgoing mayor Eric Adams also condemned the event.
Mamdani's victory has sparked excitement and hope among Muslim Americans, many of whom are now feeling proud. Some say he won despite anti-Muslim attacks during the campaign, and are encouraged that they did not deter New Yorkers from voting for him.
“For the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful — as a Muslim, as a Democrat, as an American and as an immigrant,” said Boketwar Vokas, who jumped with joy at the announcement of Mamdani’s landslide victory. She was in the audience for his victory speech, which she said was diverse. Vokas, a Pakistani-American doctor, did not believe in her youth that a Muslim would ever serve as mayor of New York. She decided to vote for him after his statements about the working class and his promise of affordable housing. Nine out of 10 Muslims voted for Mamdani.
Celebrating Mamedani's victory in New York (Photo: SPENCER PLATT / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
"It's surreal, he won!" Fatima Khan told The New York Times as she watched the election results at a Queens cafe where many Muslim residents had gathered."I voted early, and I cried," said Somaiya Chaudhry, a Muslim pharmacist who lives in Queens. Like Waqas, she could not have imagined the day a Muslim would serve as mayor of New York City.
Muslims in New York make up 4% of the population, while Jews make up three times that number."Muslims are everywhere in the city," said Renee Abdel Hamid, founder of a Muslim women's organization."We've been the pillar of so many parts of the city for so long, and now it's our time."
(Photo: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Sylvia Chan-Malik, who teaches Islam in America at Rutgers University in New Jersey, believes Mamdani's victory has brought"a collective sigh of relief from Muslims in New York that will spread across the country." She says,"The legacy of 9/11 and the war on terror has shaped the lives of generations of Muslims in New York and beyond." She is encouraged by Mamdani's victory, and that there are"many non-Muslims who are seeing through the lies and distortions about Islam."
Yousef Shohod, a political science professor at Christopher Newport University in Virginia, also mentions the major terrorist attack of 2001. He says it's hard to overstate the symbolic weight of Mamdani's victory, given the terror of September 11 and what followed."It sends a powerful message that Muslims are not only part of the civic fabric of this nation - but also help shape that fabric. For years, American Muslims have worked to show that we belong in this society. Mamdani shows that we belong in the centers of power, and are ready to lead."
(Photo: Angelina Katsanis / AFP)
After the terrorist attacks of 2001, many Muslims in America felt hostility and distrust, and encountered an environment that suspected them and questioned their patriotism."A community that had previously been seen largely as outsiders, and even as a hairy mess, has steadily built political capital," said Shuhud.
During his victory speech, Mamdani said that New York"will no longer be a city where Islamophobia can be used to win elections." Boketvar Vokas believes that some of the teasing Mamdani endured during the campaign reminds her that Islamophobia is "definitely alive and kicking, and it's heartbreaking."
Wael Alizat, executive director of the Muslim-American organization Emgage Action, which supported Mamdani, believes that the victory is the crushing answer to all those who spread hatred against Muslims. According to him, this is a historic moment, and Mamdani won thanks to his social and economic platform.
(Photo: Jeremy Weine / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Ibtisam Khurshid, a Bangladeshi-American, is proud that Mamdani was able to win the election “without betraying any part of his identity.” She is excited that her children “will witness that a South Asian Muslim can lead our great city.” She says the victory is a testament to the openness of New Yorkers and the diversity of the city. She hopes that more Muslim politicians will follow in his footsteps and succeed in shattering stereotypes.
Takia Khan, who campaigned for Mamdani, said a candidate's religion and ethnicity don't influence her decision to vote for him, but his support for Palestinian rights did. Ismail Fatahan, an Indian-American, was encouraged by the support Mamdani received from so many people"who don't look like him": "The United States is a country of different cultures, that's what makes us great. How great it is to say, 'Look, a Muslim man has been elected mayor of New York.'"
First published: 23:56, 05.11.25
